Little lambs aDaisy –she works, plays, prays!

She worked hard today –deserved a rest!

She prays hard.
Doing 'bear', she was trying to reach
a dragonfly, her food of choice outdoors.

She played hard today.
You'll note the basket of toys behind her.
She plays, instead, with a paper towel roll.

Trying to get the bug
in the light, she bats at them.
'Bear'

There is something about pets. Our pet of choice, cats. I know many of you prefer dogs. Some eschew pets altogether. They must suit your lifestyle!

I have many memories of cats and Dad's dogs (see below). He'd walk the dog, and the cat would accompany him around the block, returning up busy Yonge St. in Toronto.

I remember having measles and the cat had just had kittens. It was

Me with measles, kitten from earlier brood, puzzle

much fun snuggling them, sick in bed. There is something about giving up to illness, just giving yourself permission to take it easy.

Mom hated me staying home sick from school.
I would often have to go to the school nurse. Yes, we had one, full-time in those days. I'd be coughing that seal-bark, whooping cough and she'd phone my mom to let me go home.
Mom worked hard, and didn't take well to being ill. We had pressures. Things to achieve.

 This past week, having flu, it was good to have no pressure to accomplish something, after a 25-year career of alarm clocks, report cards, parent-teacher interviews, insomnia worrying about the next days agenda. Somedays, being too sick to be able to write up a daybook for the supply teacher, it was easier to just go in and do the program!

They were a handful

Older kitten would babysit for momma, Percy, a
cream-coloured cat!

Dad, neighbour's dog, our dog: Jenny
on Walker Ave., TO

Dad and Fluffy

Bird butts –how many have you photographed?

I saw a cute post about bird butts. More often than not, it seems that for every great photo, you manage to capture a dozen of the birds from the back. I started playing around with my files, and managed to find a few. It is fun to see how many birds turn their backs on us. Kinda like those folks who loathe having their photos taken! The woodpeckers often move around to the other side of the tree, too!
Ducks are the worst. They dive just at the wrong time.
I am always impressed by my professional photographer's photos, but this post is for us amateurs! I hope you have fun with it.

Should you wish, share your bird butt link here! I took out a Mr. Linky account, for fun, and I should use it! Please link back, as a courtesy.

What a storm she was - poor wee moth

We are recovering from a stomach flu, and I'm perfectly happy to take it easy, sticking to the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Although, the bananas and applesauce are nearly gone!

It's good to just hunker down, and worry about ourselves, and let the rest of the world go by. It is a  delightful, if not a guilty pleasure, to watch TV. A lot. Gone are the days when I limited the kids couch potatoe time.
Whilst the new has been bad (if it bleeds it leads), the disasters weigh one down some days, it is good to get away from too much reality. The press conferences have been awful. I tend to watch the news conferences for a few minutes, get bored, and then shut her down.

Thankfully, the news of the safe delivery of the new prince was an uplifting story. I've read many negative comments on this story, but I do not begrudge any nation for a celebration, for traditions, history and gravitas, of a monarchy that goes back in time. There is something to be said for pomp and circumstance.  Raising royalty since 1452: How the royals bring up baby

After storms, another one July 19th, I always check out the trees. More often than not I have to clear a path, and pick up branches. Friday's storm was a doozy, with high winds, heavy rains (24mm here), right across the province. We missed the most severe part of the storm, it loses power over the land, having picked up moisture from the Great Lakes storms dump it across the province. Many in Ontario are still without power. The farmers are the worst off, with animals to milk, feed and water, milk to preserve.

This wee moth, like the as yet unnamed Prince of Cambridge, hasn't a name, either. I set it up on a cabinet, away from cats. For some reason a deerfly landed beside it.
These photos were taken with my macro lens. It looked a bit shell-shocked and I left it to dry in the sun. It was gone when I looked later.

Trouble in the goldfish pond!

The pond is working well

Water lilies have HUGE leaves!

I love my pond. For my regular readers, you know I've worked hard; first to dig it, then to plug the holes, thanks to the dang field mice.

I regularly have to take the pump out and clean it. Daisy is my supervisor.

 The fish seem quite happy. The alewives (AKA shiners) have mated with the goldfish, and I have some interesting hybrids. Then, in the height of summer, the frogs move in from the wetland ponds.

Fuzzy, but you get an idea
of the goldfish sizes and the hybrids

As I fill the pond,
goldfish nip away at the algae

A fine specimen –the size of my hand!

Lo and behold, Jeremiah bullfrog came back this week. He couldn't have been in the pond more than an hour, when I spotted him. I walked by, and saw something hopping towards the pond. It was a wee leopard frog. It leapt into the pond, and Jeremiah hopped once, and swallowed it whole! We shall see how many wee goldfish it eats up. They lasted through his appetite last year. We shall just see!

You can see the legs sticking out of its mouth, on its left.

Now he lies in wait...

FIne little fellow

If you look you can see the leopard frog
just beyond Daisy's tail

My little helper!
She likes to watch the fish,
and take a drink!

I transplanted swamp vegetation,
now blooming.

Hard to get my work done,
with my little supervisor!

The oldest fish are about 8" long

Peer under the lily pad leaf, left of the flower,
Jeremiah is lying in wait in the shade!

A busy place

These are the yearlings

She is oblivious to the frog on the left of her!